Marvel brought out some strong books this week with epic space battles to small character driven stories about a talking monkey. I'm still calling it another Win for DC though, thanks to JMS not crapping on Superman and basically stealing his story from the old GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW team-up...

SUPERMAN #701 - JMS' first issue doesn't disappoint... his characters spoke volumes. For this type of story to work today, he's gonna have to handle more 'everyday problems' then drug dealers and suicidal whiners. I actually believe he would have let her jump and die though, which is surprising.

BATMAN #701 - I am a Grant Morrison fanboy. Even if I think this was just a mediocre filler issue and kinda bland, I feel the need to say "Give it a chance, it'll pick up!' ...I said it.

REBELS #18 - This series is criminally ignored every month. Tony Bedard really brings his A Game to the book. If you liked his EXILES, give this a shot. A new storyline starts up titled 'Sons of Brainiac'. For any Titans completists... Starfire gets nekid in this issue.

THANOS IMPERATIVE #2 - Thanos scares everyone and that is a good thing. The last page is kinda jaw dropping and you finally get the feel that this threat is far worse then the Annihilation wave was. The space battle is more epic then STAR WARS, STAR TREK, BABYLON 5 and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA all put together.

GORILLA-MAN #1 - Ken Hale is awesome. The last two pages with him answering questions from ATLAS members is funny as hell.

DAREDEVIL #508 - This storyline is just starting out and this issue essentially spells out for you how it's gonna end. BOO-URNS Marvel, nice way to give it up for free here.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #637 - GRIM HUNT ends much better then it should have. After rereading the story again all at once, I'll say this was the best story they've done since the whole Mephisto crap. I am partial because it's Kraven, but still... this was good and even shocked me at the end. Kraven is BACK!

VENGENCE OF THE MOON KNIGHT #10 - Aww fuck! Juan Jose Ryp was the artist on one of my favorite books of the past few years, BLACK SUMMER. I read this on accident and saw that he's drawing this book, which now means I gotta read it for now on. His art is fucking awesome.

X-MEN - SECOND COMING #2 - Another death... really? The past few years haven't been good for mutants, has it. This wasn't really good but it was closure. The best thing was the line up of the new X-Force team which will be AWESOME!

EDIT: I just wanted to mention how fucking stupid it was to have Storm, in Second Coming, be all high and mighty about Wolverine killing people in X-Force and saying 'X-Men don't kill' when she herself is over in DOOMWAR right now killing people alongside her husband. What a fucking way to carry over continuity there Marvel... way to go!

(edited by Cerebus on 17.7.10 0641)Forget it Josh... it's Cerebustown.

I read Superman and I am in the camp that this is what needs to be done with Superman. The knock on him minus the whole he has almost every power in the book, is that he is not interesting or no one can relate to him. JMS has figured out who Superman is in this day and age, the best friend who is their for you. Its the total opposite of what everyone is trying to do in comics right now, where every writer is coming character more complex with a bad attitude with a dark tone through out. Superman is never going to be that character and its good for JMS to realize that.

Originally posted by lotjxI read Superman and I am in the camp that this is what needs to be done with Superman.

As did I and as am I. My honest reaction to Superman #701: I think JMS loused it up but good. I hated his Superman. His characterization of Superman pissed me off. Superman is supposed to be friendly to people. His Superman is lecturing people on the street, pulling the same shit Hancock pulled when he launched that fat kid in the air (granted, Superman flew him up and didn't throw him), and was generally being an asshole. He was even being an asshole to Lois (what, he didn't inform his WIFE he was going on walkabout? She had to track him down on the streets of another town?). JMS' dialogue sucked balls, with curt one word answers to innocent questions. The one good moment was when Superman was talking to the suicide jumper but when she asked for the floodlight to be turned off, why did Superman heat vision the cord? What a dick. He could have just flown down in a split second, told them to turn it off and flown back up. I was really looking forward to this story and within just a few pages, JMS accomplished the unthinkable: he made me hate Superman. Bravo!

DAREDEVIL #508 - This storyline is just starting out and this issue essentially spells out for you how it's gonna end. BOO-URNS Marvel, nice way to give it up for free here.

I'm also looking at the way they're clearly telegraphing the ending and I can only hope it's a red herring. Turning Daredevil villain is honestly the best idea that Marvel's come up with in years and if they do it right, it has potential for a great story. It's the closest that Marvel would get to DC's Hal Jordan villain turn. If Marvel's willing to take a plunge like that with a B-lister like Bishop, I don't see a reason why they shouldn't do the same with DD. You could milk the villain turn and DD's eventual redemption path for YEARS.

The first JMS Superman issue was pretty good. I honestly liked it as the first part of a four or five-part story. But how is JMS going to milk 12 issues out of this puppy?

MD: You have to win, no matter what.SC: Why didn't you try that this year?